The United States Government, through USAID, is working closely with different political actors – political parties, government entities, civil society organizations (CSO), and civil society as a whole – to help them build their capacities, facilitate citizen participation, and ensure sustainable participatory governance.

Strengthening reading skills at the primary level is the most effective way to improve overall learning achievement and help curb primary grade dropout rates. To achieve this, USAID, through its partnership with the Ministry of Education, supports their ambitious reform efforts through planned activities that will improve students’ learning outcomes and promote higher levels of educational attainment as a result of targeting primary level learning achievement.

With an unemployment rate over 20 percent for university graduates, and an estimated 300,000 new entrants to the job market each year, USAID and the Government of Morocco share youth employability as not only a top priority for national policy and economic growth, but a wise investment in Morocco’s future.

In September 2015, USAID, in close partnership with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, launched the, “Reading for Success-Small-Scale Experimentation” (RFS-SSE) early-grade reading program. This activity is designed to develop and test the most effective approaches for strengthening children’s Arabic reading skills in targeted primary schools.

The Kingdom of Morocco has engaged in a series of reforms aimed at strengthening democratic participation and advancing the modernization of the police. USAID is supporting the Kingdom of Morocco’s reform effort through a three-year community policing pilot project in designated communities of Tangier and Tétouan. Community policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that emphasizes partnership and collaboration between police and communities with the objective of identifying and jointly responding to problems of crime, disorder and fear of victimization.

USAID/Morocco is supporting a program to work with leading political parties to strengthen their efforts to better respond to citizens and represent their interests. USAID/Morocco also supports work to strengthen civil society’s capacity to engage the electoral and legislative process and promote civic awareness.

Young Moroccans constitute over 10 million people and 80% of the unemployed in the country. Surprisingly, unemployment rates rise sharply by educational attainment – ranging from just 1.6% for labor force participants with no education to over 22% for university graduates. In response to these challenges, USAID Morocco has designed the USAID Career Center program to assist young people’s transition from education to employment.

Morocco is the United States’ oldest friend in the Middle East and North Africa. This bond, which dates back over 200 years, is forged on a solid foundation of our shared values in security, freedom, and prosperity. Located in an increasingly unstable and volatile region, Morocco continues to set itself apart with its stable government and steadily growing economy.

Field reports from USAID/FFP staff indicate that areas of Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, and Tigray regions have received delayed and intermittent June-to-September kiremt rainfall to date, although some drought-affected lowland areas of Amhara are now receiving sufficient rainfall for the meher planting season.